In metal powder processing equipment, metal powder disposed on a table which moves vertically is heated by a heater placed at a lower bottom portion of the table.
However, as the metal powder is sequentially laminated while laser beam melting or electron beam melting, and cutting by a rotating tool are performed, a distance from the table becomes large. As a result, it is unavoidable that heating temperature transmitted from the heater at the lower bottom portion of the table sequentially lowers.
Because of such a temperature change, density of the metal powder slightly changes, and dimensional precision cannot avoid being affected by this temperature change.
On the other hand, in the case of processing the metal powder in a high-humidity environment, oxidation of the metal powder and deterioration of fluidity may occur, and cooling is needed to be executed inside the chamber.
However, in a prior art, no technical consideration is particularly given to temperature adjustment including cooling in the chamber.
Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which heat control for metal powder inside a container is performed, but does not disclose any configuration of keeping temperature of the metal powder inside the container to be constant as much as possible.
Patent Document 2 discloses a configuration in which temperature of a die is constantly controlled within a predetermined temperature range even when die molding is repeatedly performed, but does not disclose any concrete configuration for temperature adjustment, and still more does not suggest any temperature control that can be adopted in the metal powder processing equipment.
Thus, the prior arts neither disclose nor suggest a configuration for appropriately setting the temperature in the metal powder processing equipment.